Forks in the Road
by Neeter
Summary: Have you ever wondered 'what if? Jack and Daniel find out one of the answers when an alien device sends them on a little journey. A "Dr. Farrell" story.


**Forks in the Road . . . **

"Time to saddle up, kids," Jack said over his radio.

"We're on our way, Jack," Daniel's voice replied.

SG1 had been on K4G-401 for the past four days, cataloging the cache of artifacts that Jack had literally stumbled into. While doing a perimeter check of the ruins discovered by the UAV, he'd crashed through a seemingly solid floor into what appeared to be an underground lab, wrenching his knee in the process. The room that Jack had found had been filled with objects that both Daniel and Carter had been salivating about since their discovery. Daniel had been ecstatic when the artifacts seemed to support his theory that this had been an outpost of the still mysterious Furlings.

Jack had gotten permission from General Hammond to bring the more portable objects back to the SGC for study. Another of the SG teams would be tasked to return to the planet for further study of the site and lab. Jack knew that Daniel wanted to be on the team that returned, but he was loathe to lend his archaeologist out to any of the other teams – they never looked after him the way that they were supposed to. And, if the archaeologist was returned with so much as a scratch, Jack didn't want to deal with Ariana. Maybe he could convince Hammond to let SG2 be the team to do the survey. If that was the case, he might let Daniel tag along. Surely the archaeologist's wife could keep him out of trouble.

Jack's musings were cut short by the appearance of the rest of his team. Carter was guiding the remote controlled F.R.E.D. piled with artifacts while Daniel and Teal'c carried a couple of the smaller items themselves. Jack rose stiffly from the rock where he'd been sitting and limped to the DHD. Daniel or Carter usually opened the gate for home, but he felt the need to be useful after days of enforced idleness. Jack dialed the address for Earth and punched in their code on his GDO.

Daniel paused beside him to watch as Carter and the F.R.E.D. disappeared through the event horizon. He handed Teal'c the larger of the two objects he'd been carrying and said, "Take this, would you, Teal'c. I'll help Jack."

"I'm fine," Jack muttered, waving his hand at his friend impatiently. Teal'c merely raised his eyebrow and turned away to walk through the active gate. Daniel grabbed Jack's left arm and put it around his neck.

"C'mon Jack. Just let me help you up the steps. You don't need to put more weight on that knee than absolutely necessary."

Jack knew that it would be easier to acquiesce. Besides, he thought, his knee really was killing him. He and Daniel made their way to the gate and stepped through the event horizon together.

They emerged on the other side, only to hear guns cocking and to see the entire defense team pointing their weapons at them. A familiar voice shouted, "For cryin' out loud!"

The two men looked at each other and Jack said with a grimace, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto."

* * *

Jack and Daniel were in the infirmary being checked over while the alternate O'Neill, Carter and Teal'c looked on. Dr. Fraiser was flashing her omnipresent penlight in Daniel's eyes and Jack was trying to quickly debrief the 'other' General Hammond while one of the nurses was attempting to stick a thermometer in his mouth. Jack waved her away irritably.

"There was no quantum mirror involved this time, sir. We just stepped through the gate and ended up here instead of our SGC," he said, shrugging. Jack was glad that they hadn't had to explain very much to the people of this universe. Though the general had been shocked to see the extra people following his own SG1 through the gate, he had quickly understood the situation and hustled them down to the infirmary. Evidently Daniel had made the journey through the mirror in this universe, as well, though Dr. Carter and Kowalski had never made an appearance.

"And you have no idea what could have caused this?" the general asked.

"It might have something to do with the artifact that I was carrying, sir," interjected Daniel. "As far as our Sam and I were able to tell, K4G-401 had been an outpost of the Furlings, and we don't know very much about them or what they were capable of."

The general looked at the archaeologist for several seconds before replying. "That's what Major Carter had told us. I have to say, son, that's it's nice to know that you're still around somewhere."

Daniel shared a quick glance with Jack. "I take it I'm dead here, sir? I thought that maybe I was just on another mission..."

"You are indeed deceased, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c nodded sadly.

"You were killed on a mission to P7J-325," O'Neill told him with a shuttered expression. The colonel shared a look with Jack that Daniel couldn't quite read. A moment later he was distracted by the designation of planet where his alternate self had expired.

"P7J-325? Jack isn't that..."

Before Daniel could finish his sentence a woman came rushing into the room. She focused on Jack, who was sitting on the bed closest to the door.

"Jack, you're back!" she said, striding up to Jack and kissing him on the lips. Jack sat there stunned, and Daniel said, "Nana?"

Ariana turned slowly in his direction. Her eyes opened wide and she paled visibly. "Daniel?" she asked before slumping into Jack's arms in a dead faint.

* * *

A/N: I couldn't help it - I swear! (g) I was watching "There but for the Grace of God" and this plot bunny sorta bit me in the butt. Let me know if you want to see more - or not as the case may be...

... P7J-325 is the planet from "Meet the New Guy?"


End file.
